Tablet depositing machine



April 23, 1940. G. s. sUPPlGER TABLET DEPOSITING MACHINE Filed March 27,1937 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 April 23, 1940.

G. s. suPPrGER 2,198,137

TABLET DEPOSITING MACHINE 4Filed March 27, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 3/M/f/Vro': GER/MET 5. SUPP/GER,

Patented Apr. 23a, 1940 UNlTeo STATES attain PATENT OFFICE TABLETnEPosrrrNG MACHINE Gerhart s. suppiger, Belleville, Ill. ApplicationMaren 27, 1937, serial Ne. 133,351

12 Claims. (Cl. 226-2) The present invention has to do with a machinefor depositing tablets in specified numbers into receptacles. It hasparticular reference to a machine of this kind fo-r depositing tabletsof salt or seasoning into cans of food being preserved, although as isentirely obvious, the mechanism is not limited to this specific use.

This machine is an improvement on the machine of Letters Patent No.2,060,645, issued November 10, 1936, of which Letters Patent l'. was aco-inventor. i

In machines of this type, a hopper is provided, at the discharge end ofwhich there is located a separator plate. This plate divides from themass of tablets within the hopper certain ones which it conveys to achute, from which chute the tablets are dischargedv at timed intervalsinto cans or the like located beneath the chute.

In the present structure there is provided a separator wheel rotatablein an. angular plane with the hopper discharging onto the lower partVone up at some time.

of this wheel. The wheel is provided with openings to pick up individualtablets from the hopper. By rotation. of the wheel these tablets areconveyed to an opposite point where they are released into a chute.Obstruction means are provided in a portion of this. chute releasably`to retain the tablets therein. Power driven means in the form of aplunger reciprocatesin this chute and at the aforesaid timed intervalsejects the tablets therefrom.

Means are provided to insure the presence of a tab-let in the chute atthe proper time, even though the separator plate should fail to pickThis means comprises a supplemental supply of tablets together withmeans operable only upon. failure o-i the separator plate to releasefrom the supplemental means one of its tablets into the chute.

It is an object of the invention to provide a tablet depositingmechanism including means for separating tablets from a` mass supp-lythereof. in combination with supplemental means supplying tablets in theevent that the principal separating means shall fail.

It is a further object to provide such a supplemental meansautomatically operable upon failure of the separating means and renderedinoperable when the sepa-rating means properly Operates. f

additionaloblect is to provide such a supplemental means that isentirely self-contained seltlperatfed." u"It isy a further"objectA ofthe invention to provide'la newandnovelimans of operating the depositingmachine and synchronizing its several` elements.

i Other objects will appear fromthe descrip tion to ensue.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the device. i

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the device.

Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. l y

Fig. l is. a vertical section of the supplemental tablet meansI taken.on. the line 4- of Fig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a plan view, partly broken away, of the entire device.

Fig. 6 is a iront view, partly broken away, showing the dischargingmeans in discharging position. l

Fig. '7 is a vertical section taken. on the line l-l of Fig. 3.

Fig. 8 is a. plan View of the supplemental means removed from themachine. Fig. 9 is an elevation of supplemental means.

The machine comprises a supporting bracket l l5 that may be attached toa base I6 of suitable kind by means such as removable bolts l1. Mountedupon the bracket I5 is a gear housing t8. The Ahorizontal portion of thebracket l5, is biiurcated, as shown particularly in Fig. 2. Bolts i8extend 'through these bifurcationsandl into the gear housing i8 wherebythe latter is suplported upon. the bracket I5. The housing I8 includesan angularly disposed portion 20.

A table 2l is mounted upon the angular portion 2D and secured thereto bymeansof screws 22. A hopper 23 in turn is` secured to the table 2i byquickly releasable connections 24 disposed at opposite sides thereof.These connections consist of screws 25 pivotally mounted to the hopperby pins 25. Winged nuts 2l with washers 28 are engaged over the screws24 and may be clamped upon bifurcations 229 on the plate 2|.

Upon loosening of the wing nuts 2l the screws 24 may be swung abouttheir pivots 26 until they are freed from the bifurcations 29 and thehopper then may be readily removed.

A vertical journal 32 is secured` to the gear box i8 by screws 33,` thejournal tting between the horizontal forks of the bracket I5. A driveshaft 34 actuated from a suitable power source has thereon a bevel gear35 that meshes with a corresponding bevel gear 36 secured to ahorizontal countershaft 37 journaled at the back in the gear housing I8and at the front in a suitable bearing in a. closure element 38. Thisclosure element is secured to the housing by screws 39.

gears.

The gear 36 is xed to the shaft 31. Likewise fixed toi this shaft is abevel gear 40 that meshes with a larger gear 4| that is secured to ashaft 42 by means of a nut 43. The shaft 42 is journaled in a suitablebearing in the table 2|. To its outer end is fastened a. separatingplate 44, the two being secured together by screws 45 extending throughthe plate into a flange on the shaft 42.

The separating plate is flanged as at 46 and has a series of holes 41extending through it adjacent the flange. These holes are of such sizeas to receive and pass the tablets to be deposited by the machine. Thenumber of tablets in each hole 41 obviously will be determined by therelative sizes of the holes and the tablets.

Beneath the separating plate 44 and secured to the table 2| is anannular race member 50 located immediately beneaththe severalr openings41. At its top this race member 50 is provided with a notch 5|, asshown, the purpose of which will become evident.

The lower part of the separating plate'lli ex tends to the lower-mostpart of the hopper 23. An adjustable baffle wall 52 is held to one wallof the hopper 23 by means of a screw 53 operating in a s lot 54. Thisbaffle wall 52 permits only a restricted number of tablets T to passbeyond it and vdown onto the separating plate 46.

Beneath the passage 5I the housing I8 has a chute 55 therein, the chuteextending downwardly and forwardly of the machine. This chute 55 is openat the top, as is shown in Fig. 3. An element 56 is secured to the frontof the housing I8`and has an extension 51 of the chute 55, whichextension likewise is open at the top. A vertical chute 58 is in turnsecured to the element 56 and is provided with an opening 59 that is incommunication with the extension 51. Bolts 60 and 6| secure the member56 to the housing I8. Screws 62 fasten the vertical chute 53 to theelement 56. Thus the several members are secured rigidly together.

'Within the vertical chute 59 are provided three spring fingers |54 thatare bowed at their bottom ends to be normally sufficiently closetogether to receive and retain a tablet T; -but which may be separatedto permit passage thereof. A plunger 65 reciprocates in the member 59and its cupped lower end impinges upon the tablet retained by the springfingers 64, parts them, and ejects the tablets therefrom. f The plunger65 has a medial s-lot 61 therein with which register corresponding slots60 in the chut-e member 58. A rocker arm 10 passes through the slots 51and 69 and, with a pin and slot connectionll, is connected to theplunger 65. The rocker arm 10 is freely pivoted on a shaft 69 supportedin a rigid bracket 12 that forms an extension on the element 55.v

Fixedly secured to lthe shaft to rotate therewith is a driving arm 13having extensions 14 and 15 respectively above and below the rocker arm,10 and spaced somewhat therefrom. A coil spring 16 extends-from a holein the projection 14, and abuts the rocker arm 10, and is held It isremovable to give access toy the centered by a pin 11 on the rocker arm.A set screw 18 extends through the hole in the projection 14, againstthe spring', to adjust the tension of the spring. On the projection 15is located an adjustable set screw 19 having' a lock nut. It will beseen that by this connection, rocking of the shaft 1I from the positionof Fig.

2 to that of Fig. 6 correspondingly rocks the bracket 13 which, throughthe spring 16, forces the plunger 65 downwardly. The distance downwardlyis adjusted by means of the set screw 19.

An arm 8| is secured to the end of the shaft 1I opposite the bracket 13.A pitman 82 is pivotally secured at S3 to the actuating arm 8|, and at84 to a crank 85. The crank 65 in turn is pinned to the shaft 31. Thusupon each rotation of the shaft 31, the plunger will be forceddownwardly and retracted once.

It sometimes happens that the separating plate 44does not pick up one ofthe tablets. The means now to be described takes care of thissituation.- A base bar 9|! is secured to the front of. the machine bymeans of the bolt 6I. This bar extends upwardly, backwardly and then atan angle to the right as will be seen from the drawings, particularlyFig. 8. A second bar 9| overlies the bar and is likewise secured by thescrewv 6I. A shaft 92' is journalcd in the two bars and extendsbetweenthem. A'ratchet wheel 93 isV adjustably secured by aset screw 94 to theshaft 92'. The shaft Vis provided with a fiange 95 to whichis securedadisc 96 having a plurality of tablet-receiving holes 91 therethrough. Asis apparent-from Fig. 4, the screws 98 secure the disc to the iiange 95.l Beneath the disc 96 is a plate 99 attached to the bar 90 by screws|00. A notch I9! .(Fig. 8) is provided adjacent the edge of the plateSB.VBy reference to Fig. 7, it will be seen that this notch IOI is locateddirectly above the chute 55. As will be explained, when the disc 96rotates until one of the. holes 91 containing a tablet comes above theslot I0,|, the tabletwill fall through the slot and into the chute 55.Means .now to. .be described are provided for rotating the disc onlywhen the separating plate 44 failsto pick up a tablet from the mainhopper.

A shaft |03. is supported inthe outer end of the bar 90. Acollar |94,held. in position by a set screw, engages the shaft |03 on ,one side ofthe bar 90. A` sleeveV |05 fits over the-shaft opposite the collar I 04,this sleeve having a flange |06.. Screws Ilextend through the bar 90 andthe flange |0|5to support the sleeve |05 onthe bar. A rocker arm |08 isheld on the shaft |03 adjustably by aset screw |09. Upon the outer endof the rockerarm |08 is pivoted a rachet dog |I0. An adjustable collarIII likewise lits on the rockerarm 03 and between it and the dog H0 islocated a coil spring II2 urging the dog IIO inra clockwise direction,viewed in 8. against the ratchet .wheel 93. A bracket IIB extendsupwardlyy from Athe plate 99. Between this bracketand the outer end ofthe rocker arm |08 is va spring II 4 tendingto rock the rocker arm andits shaft in a counterclockwise direction, as shown in Fig. 8. A springclip I I5 upon the bar 9| extends downwardly adjacent the ratchet wheel93 to maintain it against rotation backward. Y v

Upon the end ofthe shaft |03 opposite the rocker arm |08 is a teller armH6, a set screw I I1 adjustably holding this arm in position. This armhas at its out/arend a small wheel II8, preferablyof resilient material,rotatable .about a screw VI I9 that yengages the teller arm. I I6. Thisarm extends downwardly over the separating plate 44 andthe wheel II8rides on this' plate as the latter rotates.

The operation of the device is as follows:

A supply'ofl tablets T is placed` in thel hopper 23. The gate 52 isadjusted to the proper elevaf `tion to permit a restricted quantity oftablets to pass through to the separating plate 44 at a time. The shaft34 is caused to rotateand it will be understood that this shaft issynchronized in operation with a can-feeding means F by means of theshaft 34 and the gear f, details being omitted. The synchronizingmechanism is so designed (as by the relation of gear sizes, etc.) `thatthe can conveyor will be advanced a distance to bring a new can beneaththe chute 5t each time a new tablet-receiving opening 4l in the plate 44is brought over the opening 5I to the chute 55. If desired, thisarrangement can be modified so that a new can is brought for reaclrsecond or more openings 4l, which modification will result in thedelivery of a correspondingly higher number of tablets to each can.

As the shaft 34 rotates, the countershaft 3l will correspondinglyrotate. Through the gears 40 and 4|, the separating plate 44 will berotated relatively to the rotation of the countershaft in. a ratio ofthe number of openings 4l in this plate, to one. Thus, as shown here,the plate 44 will `rotate one complete time for every six revolutions ofthe countershaft 3l and, correspondingly, for every singlet rotation ofthe countershaft the separating plate 44 will advance one-sixth of arevolution. The separating plate, viewed in 5, rotates in a clockwisedirection. As each opening 4? comes above the chute 55, its tablets or itablet drop through the chute into the spring arms 64 where they areretained. This will occur dur-` ing or shortly before the can `conveyorhas moved the distance to bring a` can C beneath the member 58. Shortlythereafter and before the can is removed, the crank 85 will rotate andthrough `the various arms 82, 8|, T3 and l) will depress the plunger 65to the position of liig.` 6 which, in turn, will eject the tablet fromthe spring arms 64, whence it will drop into the can C. The feedingmeans F will then convey the can away and bring a new can up toposition.

Should it happen that one of they openings M d oes notreceive a tablet,the following operation will occur. As the empty opening comes beneaththe wheel H8 of the teller arm H6, this Wheel will drop into the holeunder urging of the spring H4. Such will cause a fractional rotation ofthe shaft it and the arm Hit counterclockwise, in Fig. 8, a suiicientdistance to permit `the ratchet dog H0, under the action of the spring`I I2, to drop behind the next tooth of the ratchet wheel 93. Theratchet wheel is, during this operation, prevented from rotatingbackwards by the clip H5. When the teller arm H5 subsequently rides outof the empty hole 4l by virtue of its movement towards the position overthe chute 55, the arm will again rotate the shaft |03 `in a clockwisedirection, in Fig. 8. This rotation will cause the ratchet dog toadvance the ratchet wheel 53 the space of one` tooth. Since the teethare spaced angularly the same as the openings S7, this will advance anew opening Sl over the notch itil whereupon the tablet in such newopening will drop through the `notch into the chute 55 to supply thetablet missing from the empty opening 4l in the separating plate.

`In the event, however, that the separating plate `opening 41 dulycontains` a tablet, the teller arm l `I I6 will not drop to theposition` shown in Fig. 4, but will ride over the tablet within theopening. Consequently, the ratchet dog Ht will not be drawn back and thetooth and the disc 96 will not subsequently be advanced.

Thus when, and only when, an opening 1l of the separating plate 44 failsto pick up a tablet, the supplemental 'means will supply thisdeflciency. Ordinarily the failure will occur only once in ten or twentythousand times, or even less,

so that it is necessary to have only a relatively small number oftablets in the supplemental supply. The disc 96 is immediately in sightto anyone inspecting the machine. In case the supplemental means isoperated, the inspector will observe that a certain number of tabletsneed to be added to the disc 9B. 'Ihis disc is, of course, of arbitrarysize and can be made large enough to contain as many tablets as may bedesired.

The separating plate 44 may be synchronized with the plunger byloosening the nut 43, and rotating the plate and shaft 42 relative tothe gear ffl. The disc Sti may be synchronized with the teller arm. il@by loosening either of the set screws lilQ or lll. 'Ihe ratchet wheel,by loosening the setscrew S4, may be adjusted relative to the disc.

It will be seen from the foregoing that a tablet depositing machine,simple in operation, but proof against failure, has been provided. f i

What is claimed is:

l.. In a machine for depositing articles, means providing' a main supplyof articles, movable means continually separating in spaced relation apredetermined number of said articles from the main supply. said movablemeans being operable to convey the articles from the main supply and todeposit them at successive intervals in a receiver, and supplementalsupply means having means engaging `said separating means, said engagingmeans `being movable into and out of spaces in the movable means whensaid spaces are devoid of articles, discharge means operated by movementof the engaging means to operate the supplemental .supply means tosupply the predetermined number of articles in the receiver to take theplace of the `deiiciencysaid engaging means causing the discharge meansto operate to supply articles from the supplemental supply means intothe receiver at substantially the time the space of the movable meansthat is thus deplemental article supply means comprising an 'i aperturedplate, said teller element being adapted to move into and out of anyvacant holein said separating plate by an up and down pivotal movement,mechanism operated solely by such up and `down movement of the tellerelement into and out of any vacant hole to cause the supplemental supplymeans` to furnish articles in placeV of those missing from the plate,said element being prevented from entering any occupied hole.

3. In a machine for depositing articles, means providing anindeterminate supply of articles, means to receive `the articles,` meansto separate articles in predetermined number from the supply, and toconvey them in such vnumber to the receiving means, and mechanism`communicating with the receiving means to supply the deficiency whenthe separating means fails, said mechanism including a supplementarymovable element having articles therein in the predetermined numberaforesaid, a second element being operatively con- Cil ne'cted with saidmovablev element bymovable members and being'itselfi pivotally movable,said second'element being normally substantially free of movement, butbeing oscillatively'movable into and'out of empty spaces in theseparating means left empty by the failureV of the separating'means toseparate out its articles, and by such movement through its connectingmembers causing movement of the supplementary article-containing movableelement into position to discharge into the receiving means thepredetermined number of articles therefrom. l

'4.`- In a machine forv depositing articles, means providing a supply ofarticles, a wheel having a plurality of holes therethrough and spacedaround adjacent the periphery thereof, a chute, movable means voperatingto clear the chute, driving'means to move said wheel and cause the'sameto pass through said supply and pick up a predetermined number ofarticles in each hole, an arm overhanging the wheel and normallyengaging thc same, means having a supplemental supply of articles andmovable to discharge the predetermined number thereof into the chute,and means connected to said arm and said supplemental supply means,whereby when said wheel does not pickup articles inany hole, the arm maydrop into said hole, and by further movement of the Wheel be ejectedfrom the hole', and by its moven ment into and out of the hole shift thesupplen mental supply means to discharge position, and means connectingsaid chute clearing means to said driving means.

5. 'In a machine for depositing articles, means providing a supply ofarticles, a Wheel having spaced holes adjacent the periphery thereof androtatable through said supply to pick up a'pre determined number ofarticles in each hole, a chute located adjacent the wheel, opposite vthesupply, and adapted to receive the articles from the wheel, meansmovable to discharge articles from the chute, power means, said powermeans lbeing connected to rotate the wheel and to operate' the chuteclearing means, a supplemental article supply means located above thechute and including a second wheel having spaced holes therein andadapted to have articles in the predetermined number in said slots,means backingr said holes save at a certain part of said wheel abovesaid chute, and means operable by the rst wheel upon absence of articlesin one of its holes to move said second wheel to position where thepredetermined number of articles are discharged into the chute atsubstantially the time the deposit by the movable member would havesupplied the articles.

6. In a machine for depositing articles, means providing a supply ofarticles, a chute, a rotatable separating plate having a plurality ofcircularly arranged holes therethrough, said plate being out ofhorizontal and having its lower edge rotatable through the supply ofarticles to pick one up in each hole, a chute, means to retain articlesin the chute, a backing plate below the plate to hold the articles inthe holes and having a notch fadjacent the chute, whereby said `plateupon rotation carries articles `to said chute and periodicallydischarges them therein, an arm over saidplate,

means urging said arm into engagement with the plate ahead of the chute,and on the circle of said holes, a second wheel above said chute havingl a plurality of circularly arranged holes to contain an article in eachhole, a backing plate beneath said second plate but having a notchdirectly above the chute, a ratchet for rotating the second wheel tobring successive holes ab'ove the notch, said arm being movable into andout of any vacant hole in the rst wheel, and by saidv movement advancingthe ratchet one hole of the second wheel, and means operable after eachhole of the first wheel reaches the chute to clear the same, said meansincluding a resiliently driven plunger, and means to adjust the strokethereof. s

'7. In a machine of the kind described, means providing a main supply ofarticles, movable means separating a predetermined number' of sucharticles and transporting them, a receptacle for receiving thetransported articles, periodically movable means for discharging saidarticles from the receptacles, supplemental means for supplying anydeficiency in articles caused by the failure of the separating means,and adapted to operate to discharge articles into the receptacle tosupply the deficiency, said supplemental means being operable prior tothe operation of the periodically movable discharge means.

8. In a machine of the kind described, means providing'a main supply ofarticles,V a movable means separating a predetermined lnumberof Lsucharticles in spaced points about its area and adapted to transport saidarticles toa discharge pointat successive intervals determined bythespacing of the points in the movable means,` sup.- plemental meansnormallyinoperative `andcon` taining an additional supply'of articles,said supi plemental means including means operable upon deficiencyrofarticles in any spaced point on'the moving member and 'adapted to supplythe' dfii ciency at the discharge point approximately'at the time suchdeficient spaced point reaches said discharge point and aftertheprevious spaced point has passed said discharge point.

9. In a depositing machine, means providing a main supply of articles, amovable member having spaces to receive articles and separate the samefrom the main supply, a movable auxiliary supply means, a teller memberoperating over the movable member and normally in contact therewith, ashaft to which the' teller member 'is fixedly connected,'meansconnecting the shaft to the auxiliary supply means to move Vthe latterto discharge position upon rotary movement of the shaft, means urgingthe teller member into lany deficient space presented by the movablemember, and further movement ot said member causing it to leave theteller member and move the same out of the space, such movement of theteller member into and out of the space causing rotary movement of theshaft and hence operating the auxiliary supply means. 10. In adepositing machine, means providing a main supply of articles, a movablemember having spaces to receive articles and to separate them from thesupply, a movable auxiliary supvply means, a shaft for moving 4saidauxiliary supply means, a second shaft, a teller member secured to thesecond shaft and vnormally extending against the movable member, saidteller member being adapted to move into and out of any space presentedto it by the movable member andv delicient in articles, such movementbeing transmitted to the second shaft as an oscillation there# of, and aratchet connection between the two shafts, the dog oi which is displacedrelative yto the wheel by one of the movements of the second shaft, andthe wheel of which is moved by the dog by the other of such movements.

ll. In a depositing machine, means providing a supply of articles, achute, a movable member having spaces to receive a predetermined numberof articles and to separate them from the supply, and to convey them tothe chute, means to clear the chute, power means, means connecting themovable member and the chute clearing means t0 the power means foroperation of the clearing means following .each deposit by the movablemember of said predetermined number oi articles into the chute, asupplemental article supply means, and means to operate the supplementalsupply means upon a deficiency of said predeu termined number ofarticles in any space of the movable member, said means being operableto deposit the predetermined number of articles into the chute to supplythe deficiency at substantially the time the same would have beensupplied thereto by the movable member to be ready for the correspondingoperation of the chute clearing means.

12. In a machine of the kind described, a support, a main article supplymeans adapted to receive and transport a continuous supply of articles,and a supplemental article supply means operable upon deficiency ofarticles in the rst means, said main article supply means and saidsupplemental article supply means being adapted to discharge into acommon receiver, said supplemental supply means including anarticlecontaining member `secured to a rotatable shaft for rotarymovement, a ratchet'wheel xed to `the shaft, a second rotatable shaftmounted on the support, a teller arm secured to one end of said secondshaft and disposed to engage the main article supply means in thearticle-receiving and transporting area, said teller being movable intoand out of empty articleereceiving portions of the main article supplymeans solely through a pivotal movement about the second shaft as a xedaxis, an arm Xed to the other end of the second shaft` having a dogpivotally connected thereto, said dog engaging said ratchet Wheel, saiddog being adapted to rotate said ratchet one notch by each pivotal cycleof the teller.

GERHART S. SUPPIGER.

